Pipe-cleaner tool.



H. A. BERGMANN.

PIPE CLEANER TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 5, 1914. 1 145 9660 I Patented m 13, 1915.

WNETED @Thdhd HERMAN A. BERGMANN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

PIPE-CLEANER TOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

, Patented July 13, 1915.;

Application filed November 5, 1914-. Serial No. 870,611.

To (12120710772 it may concern Be it known that I, HERMAN A. BERG- MANN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pipe-Cleaner Tools, of which the following is a specification containing a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accon'ipanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

hly invention relates to improvements in pipecleaner tools.

The object of my invention is to provide a pipe cleaner for the exterior surface of a pipe or other convex surfaces, which will remove scale, dirt or other foreign substances from the exteriorof a pipe in a minimum of time and, with a minimum of effort by devising a tool which either manually or by means of power either by a longitudinal scraping action or by a radial reciprocating motion removes the foreign substances from one half of a pipe with each application in an even and definite manner-the blade of the cleaner being in perfect contact with the semiperiphery of the pipe at all times; this perfect contact not being disturbed by irregularities in the contour of a pipe or in the blade of the tool, caused by wear, etc. i

The tools used at the present time are inefficient in that the blades do not come in perfect contact with the semiperiphery of a pipe and hence only scrape or clean a part of the semiperiphery of the pipe with each application of the tool when the pipe surface is irregular owing to the presence of foreign matter, or slightly deformed through wear or imperfection in manufacture, or when the blades become irregular in contour owing to wear; this necessitates the repetition of the operation of scraping on the same surface to perfectly removescale and then removes it but partially and imperfectly.

My invention obviates this difficulty by use of blades which automatically conform to the contour. of the With the above purposes in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more. fully described, pointed out in the claim and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure 1. is a side elevation of a device constructed according to my invention, po-

sitioned on a pipe as when in use. Fig. 2.

is an end elevation ofthe same similarly positioned relative to a pipe. Fig. 3. is a vertical section along the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is an end elevation of a modified form of my invention showing the blades in two positions.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, 1, designates any conventional pipe or object havinga regular convex exterior surface, upon which my inven tion is to be used to remove scale, dirt, etc.

and represent two pivoted blades, each blade being in the form of a quadrant of a circle, the blade surfaces being arcuatcd inclined planes, inclining rearwardlys hown in Fig. 2. These blades are revolubly pivoted to the members i and 5 by means of the pivots 6 and 7. The members d and 5 are riveted together, with the-plate 8 se cured between them, at their upper extremities by the rivets 9. To the upper edge of the plate 8 is secured the .cylindricx-ilblock 10; the block 10 and plate 8 are secured together by the frictional contact between them in the groove of the block 10 and the metal members 12, which pierce boththe block 10 and, the plate 8. To this device so far described is riveted the curved rod 13 which passes throughthe members 4 and 5 as well as through the plate 8, pro-' truding slightly, beyond plate 4: at 14. To the opposite end of the curved rod 13 is attached the handle 15, which is of the conventional-type. Approximately in the center of this curved rod is fastened the rest plate 16, which has its bottom edge arcuated so as to .lie fiat on the pipe 1. It is so positioned and designed that it only forms a perfect contact with the pipe 1 when the blades 2 and 3 are perpendicular to the pipe.

The operation of my pipe cleaner is as follows: The tool is placed on the pipe to be cleaned, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the left hand of the operator resting on the block 10 and the right grasping the handle 15. While exerting a sufficient pressure downwardly on the tool to keep it in contact with the pipe, it is pulled forward in the direction of the arrow on Fig.-1, thereby producing a scraping action on the, pipe, loosing and, re-.

moving any scale or dirt that may be present is greatly restricted by the right angle of the blades coming in contact with the lower edge of the plate 8. This movement must be just suflicient to permit the blades to conform to the surface of the pipe. A difierently proportioned tool will be necessary for various pipe-sizes.

While my diagram and description refer to a hand teol, I do not wish to be limited to manual operation, since the longitudinal motion of the tool on the pipe may be imparted by mechanical means.

Fig. 4designates a modified form. of my invention to be used in cases where the scale or dirt adheres so tightly to the pipe that it cannot be removed by a scraping action.

.The blades 2 and 3 in the modified-form are substantially of the same shape as in the preferred form-just described, with this exception however, that the arcuated cutting edges of the blades arenot simple inclined.

planes, but are double inclined planes meeting in the center of-the arcuations in the cutby'two pivots 6 and 7 onto the frame 16 ting edges. The blades are likewise pivoted which terminates at its other extremity in a the rod 17. The rotation of the blades is blades and .the pipe.

limited in this modified form bythe edge 18;: this rotation being suflicient to bring about the necessary conformity between the This modified form is used byhammering on the rod 17 by man:

- present.

messes ual or pneumatic means, impact of the blows dislodging any dirt or scale that may be What I claim and mean to secure by Letters-Patent is:

In a tool of the class described, a frame,

fixed and alining pivotal elements supported by the frame, means for applying pressure to said pivoted elements over aforesaid pivotal elements, means for moving the frame longitudinally of a pipe-to be cleaned, means arranged to rest on the pipe being cleaned for holding said frame at a fixed angle relative to the pipe, a pair of'scraping tools, each having an arcuate edge, which edges normally conjointly form a substantionate positions.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERMAN A. BERGMANN.

Witnesses v LEONARD L. BonNscHEm, MILDRED STooKER. 

